She's A Fighter
by RattyCatty
Summary: Alice tries to fight a Tyrant but underestimates it. Claire is there to pick up the pieces and look after her while she heals. Set during Extinction, slightly AU in that some characters are alive. Alice/Claire pairing. Hurt/Comfort. Rated M for swearing and bloody violence.
1. Chapter 1

**I promised zombies, and zombies you will have. A tyrant, actually, but y'know. I finally sorted out this thing! So this is sort of AU in that Alice has been with the convoy for a few months and Betty and Carlos are alive, but the outbreak is still a thing. The first chapter is a bit action-y, but I had to include it for the rest to make sense and I quite enjoyed writing it. There's more Clairice coming up in the next two chapters - some angst, some fluff. There are brownie points if you can tell me what Tyrant this is and which game I stole it from.  
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** I hope people enjoy this, and feel free to drop me a review or a PM for any reason.  
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**DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Resident Evil movies or games or any of the characters from either. **

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Even over the vehicle's thundering engine, Alice heard it before she saw it; a loud, resonating thumping, like the heavy feet of an elephant or perhaps a rhino, and laboured breathing, as if whatever was rapidly approaching was having trouble holding its own weight. She gestured for the redheaded leader to stop the Hummer as she surveyed their surroundings, searching for the source of the unsettling noise. Claire complied with a small frown, cutting the rumbling engine and turning to Alice, her eyebrows knitting together in concern.

Alice paused before giving the woman a heads up to what the hell was going on. "There's something out there," she murmured vaguely, her voice calm and collected despite the anticipation that caused goose bumps to rise on her skin. As much as she hoped it was just an elephant or a rhino, common sense told her otherwise. The Umbrella Corporation's experiments had pretty much eliminated the chances of discovering life; survivors were few and far between, and in the last 3 months, the convoy had only received a handful of calls for help, most of which they'd got too late. Even before the outbreak, your chances of finding a live elephant or rhino roaming the dusty plains of Nevada were not massive. No, this was something else entirely.

"Hey, Claire, what's goin' on up there? Everything ok?" Carlos' anxious voice came through the tinny radio, shattering the silence in the Hummer. A look of irritation flashed across Alice's face for a second before she became masked and unreadable again. She loved the guy, she really did, and hell, he'd been a best friend to her since the Raccoon City shit went down, but for someone who had been through the worst hell imaginable, he could be incredibly naive sometimes.

"Just keep quiet and don't start your engines until Alice or I give you the go ahead," Claire told the convoy, her voice level and authoritative despite the pang of worry stirring in her stomach. Whatever was out there was making Alice worried, and that meant it was bad. The redhead searched the blonde's face for the slightest sign of anything, but her face was neutral and unrevealing as ever. She mentally damned the woman for being so unreadable all the time before deciding it was probably better that way; Alice had been through hell and chances were it wouldn't do anyone in the convoy any good if they knew what she did.

"Fuck," Alice cursed under her breath as she finally saw the cause of the unsettling sounds. She glanced at Claire quickly before her eyes returned to the approaching monstrosity. "Turn the car around. We need to get out of here fast," she ordered, watching the beast with calculating eyes. What the hell was it? _Must be some kind of tyrant, _she thought. _Those Umbrella bastards never know when to stop, do they?_

Fast approaching was a towering, beefy hulk of a monster. Its bald head was chiselled and square, its cheekbones protruding like those of a hunky sportsman. A vicious looking snarl was plastered on its face and its eye-sockets held milky white orbs. The monster's slate-grey body was that of a world class body builder, except that parts of it were horribly mutated. Great herculean arms, that almost looked as if they were made of rock, were tensed by its sides, muscles rippling and veins bulging. At the end of one was a huge, meaty club that could definitely do some damage. The other had bloody, serrated claws as long as his upper leg instead of fingers.

"Turn around!" Alice barked, distracting the redhead from the sight of the brute. She felt a slight twinge of guilt for shouting at the woman when she was probably just as scared as any of the other survivors, but if that's what it took to keep them alive, so be it. It did the trick. Claire snapped out of her fearful trance and stomped on the gas pedal, throwing the car forwards and spinning it round a complete 180, sending them back the way they came and, more importantly, away from the creature.

"Turn around fast. We're going back the way we came. Keep your weapons ready and your windows rolled up," Claire commanded down the radio, glancing out the back window to check the others were following. Next to her, Alice leaned forward out of her chair, looking around them for the menace and visibly bristling. The blonde's messy hair fell across in her eyes, giving her the look of a wild animal that matched the dangerous look in her eyes, and Claire shuddered, although whether it was from fear or from arousal, she wasn't sure.

It had been weeks since Alice's last good fight, and her body was begging for it. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and the virus screamed in her blood, making her muscles coil and her heart quicken. Her hands balled into fists, nails digging into her palms, and she worked on keeping the virus at bay, tensing and relaxing each muscle at a time while still keeping an eye out for the mutant.

Over the radio came LJ's shocked cry of "Motherfucker!" before Carlos spoke up. "Claire, what the hell is that thing?" Fear and confusion bled into his voice that he was so obviously trying to keep level. Alice felt Claire's expecting eyes on her and spoke quietly.

"It's a tyrant. Umbrella injected the T-virus directly into human flesh, and that's what happened. The bastards wanted to create the perfect soldier. Even after the world went to hell, they didn't stop experimenting," she revealed. Her days working as Head of Security allowed her some insight into the experiments before she herself became an Umbrella test subject. She heard someone heave a disbelieving breath before swearing quietly down the radio, though she wasn't sure who the voice belonged to. Alice glanced at the redhead to gauge her reaction, but her face was hard and unreadable, the face of a leader who didn't want to show her fear or discomfort.

Thudding sounds of increasing volume grabbed Alice's attention again, and she twisted round in her seat to see the tyrant gaining on them. This time there was no way Claire would be able to do something to throw it off their trail. She would have to do something herself. The virus in her blood lit up like a fire and sent an excited thrill down her spine at the thought. She leant down, grabbed the weapons she'd removed and laid by her feet while they were driving and quickly holstered them.

"Claire, keep driving. Take the convoy away from here and keep them safe. I'll catch up with you once I've taken care of this," she directed, throwing the Hummer door open and jumping out. Not waiting to hear the leader's no-doubt disapproving reply, she set off at a run towards the monster, sawn-off shotguns in hand.

"Pick on someone your own size!" she shouted, firing several bullets into the creature's head. The tyrant looked dazed for a second before spotting its attacker and abandoning the trail of vehicles to pursue her. Alice smiled softly. The tyrants were all so easy to work out. Umbrella really needed to improve the attention span of their experiments.

The tyrant bellowed as Alice fired more bullets into its flesh but it didn't falter. The bullets seemed to have no effect on him. Alice cursed, holstering her guns and unsheathing her kukri knives. Spinning them in her grip, she ran forwards to meet the creature. He lunged clumsily for her, but Alice was quicker, leaping and somersaulting over his head, slicing at the tender flesh of his throat as she went. Crimson blood sprayed the desert sand, indicating that her blades had hit their mark, and Alice landed neatly behind the creature. If he had had proper hands, he might have clutched at his throat, but as it was, he could only let it bleed and try to keep from sustaining any more injuries.

Before the tyrant had a chance to turn around, Alice vaulted onto its back, wrapping her legs around its strong abdomen and snaking one arm around its chest to keep herself on top of it. Her other hand clawed at the cuts she'd made before, tearing at the skin to reveal a bloody mess of muscles and veins. The creature beneath her cried out and she felt the sound vibrate in his throat. The blonde's mouth twisted into a grin and she dug her slender fingers deeper into his neck, feeling the warm blood spill out over her hands. The virus inside her rejoiced; this is what she had been built for. When Umbrella had taken her and messed with her body and mind, they had been turning her into the perfect soldier, equipped with strength, agility, speed, power, quick thinking, mental abilities and a thirst for the kill. She was a killer – the _perfect_ killer.

_No, _Alice thought. _I'm more than that. I can be more than that. I _will _be more than that. _She had to cling to whatever humanity she had left. She had to kill this tyrant and then return to Claire and the convoy. They needed her, and she needed Claire.

She landed on the ground with a thump, sprawled on her back on the hot sand. A large fist came down on her before she knew what was happening, and she cried out as white hot pain shot through her body, a loud crunching noise filling the air. The fist came down again, but she rolled away before it struck her a second time. Her torso protested as she rolled, and sand crept into her clothing. Alice coughed violently and blood rolled down her chin before dripping onto the sand. She groaned and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand before quickly rolling away from a third blow.

Alice knew she couldn't carry on like this. She had to do something or she would be beaten to a bloody pulp by this bastard. It appeared neither bullets or severe injury would take him out, so her last option was complete obliteration. It was a long shot and it would definitely be painful for her as well as the beast, but she had no other choice. Panting, she forced him away with her mind, throwing him a good 50 metres. He crumpled to the sand like a rag doll, but he would no doubt be on his feet again soon.

Shutting her eyes, she focused all her energy on building a force big enough to blow this guy to pieces. Her body felt hot, hotter than the desert sun was making her, even hotter than the burning sand below her. The heat increased and her mind felt as if someone had put a bullet in her brain. Fire roared behind her eyes, scorching her skull and eating up every inch of her as she clutched desperately at consciousness. All she wanted was to slip into blissful oblivion and let the monster have her, for she had been fighting for so long and it had got her nothing, but she willed herself to just finish this before doing so, if not for herself, for the younger redhead.

Alice felt a trickle of blood spill from her nostrils, the liquid cool in comparison to the heat she was feeling. She moaned as the inferno inside her reached its apex and her eyes flew open, forcing the blaze out of her body and at the tyrant, who was beginning to approach the blonde again. The energy hit the monster, throwing him backwards and engulfing him in white hot flames. The beast screamed as the angry fire made quick work of its tough exterior and began to eat away at the tender muscle and tissue beneath.

The frazzled blonde heaved a weary chuckle as the monster dropped to what was left of its knees, roaring and choking, a slave to the raging inferno. She heard his raucous cut short as his vocal chords were incinerated. A second painful shove at the animal, and it was torn to pieces from the inside; its spinal column shattered and its brain burst inside its cracked encasing. Alice's smile faltered as the consequences of the second mental wave of strength hit her like a train. Her vision swam, her focus frayed, and she was somewhat aware of a woman's panicked voice nearing as her grip on consciousness slipped and she was plunged into serene darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the positive responses! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. I also hope the plot makes sense because I had a little trouble fitting the cute stuff I wanted into a sensible plot/order.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Resident Evil or the characters.**

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"Keep driving. I'm going to get Alice. Carlos, you're in charge until I get back. Keep them safe for me, old man," Claire Redfield instructed her second-in-command. She spun the truck around, back towards where she'd foolishly left Alice. They'd only left her 5 minutes ago but the leader had had an uncomfortable fearfulness gnawing at her the whole time, and she'd decided to turn around.

The redhead knew Alice could look after herself, especially with the virus that ran through her system, but she also knew how reckless she could be and how often she'd get herself into sticky situations. She wasn't sure how she felt about the other woman, but she knew she couldn't lose her. The few months Alice had been with the convoy had been some of the best. While they hadn't found many more survivors, they hadn't lost any either. While people had been unsure of Alice at first, they soon came to trust her after she had saved their lives on more than one occasion and proved to be a valuable asset to the convoy; some had even plucked up the courage to talk to the stoic woman. The older woman lifted some responsibility from Claire's shoulders and, though the leader would probably never admit it, she made her feel safer than anyone had since she'd lost Chris.

That was why she couldn't lose the woman who'd exploded into their lives three months ago, why she was leaving her convoy in the trusty hands of Carlos whilst she attempted to save the wild woman's fine ass from a horrific Umbrella experiment.

She would have left K-Mart with Carlos, but there was no time if Claire was right about Alice being in danger, and she might need the girl's help. Claire brought the car to a stop when she got to the location she'd left Alice, and gasped at the sight that met her. Alice was curled up on the desert sand, looking battered and beaten, the monster a length away, trying to get to its feet but struggling with its bad design. Something about the angle of the blonde's body and limbs looked off, and Claire wondered if she really wanted to know the extent of the damage.

She barely got the door open before she ran out and round to the back of the vehicle, grabbing the First Aid kit from the boot and slinging the strap over her shoulder. She began running towards the blonde, Beretta ready to fire if the monster showed signs of violence. _Shit, should've parked closer, _Claire thought as she ran faster.

It was then the beast managed to stand at last and began ambling towards Alice again. The blonde looked weak and vulnerable, a shadow of her former self. _She doesn't stand a chance, _Claire realised and took aim with her handgun, stopping to allow herself the best chance of getting a fatal hit on the thing. However, before she managed to take a shot, the beast was on its knees again. Hot flames enveloped it, anguished roars filling the air as the ghastly creature was devoured. A second later, an ear-splitting crack sounded, and the creature slumped onto the golden sand, seemingly dead.

The redhead's eyes were drawn back to the blonde in the sand, panic rising inside her.

"K-Mart, get the car and bring it closer! I'm not going to be able to carry her all that way," she cried to the teenager as she broke into a sprint towards the woman who had always seemed so strong and untouchable, praying she wasn't too late.

Breathing hard, she finally reached her and dropped to her knees to assess the woman's condition.

Alice lay in a crumpled heap in the sand, eyes closed and face serene. Her nose and mouth were smeared with sticky blood, and a trickle of the same scarlet liquid trickled from a deep cut on her forehead. The woman's uncovered skin was purple with bruises, one arm an awkward angle and sliced up. Dark gore coated slim fingers and crept under jagged nails, a testament to the raw violence that had gone on just moments ago. The ex-project's breaths were shallow and slow and her pulse was almost undetectable, but she was alive.

"Alice? Alice! Can you hear me?" she called softly, willing the blonde to answer her. She swore quietly, running her slightly shaking hands through her hair. Behind her, she heard the familiar growl of the Hummer approach and let out a shaky breath as it came to a stop and the young blonde hopped out.

"Holy...Is she gonna be ok?" K-Mart gasped, eyes wide at the sight before her, fear evident in her voice. Her eyes widened even more as she laid them on the burning tyrant. "Claire, what the hell-?"

The redhead shook her head. "K, there's no time. I'll tell you later, but right now we need to get Alice into the car and back to the convoy. I think something's broken and we need Betty to set it before it heals. Can you help me lift her?"

The teenager nodded and they moved so Claire was at Alice's shoulders and K-Mart at her feet. They lifted her up with only slight difficulty, and laid her carefully across the backseat of the Hummer. Tucking a piece of dirty blonde hair behind the woman's ear, the leader looked her up and down. She was the picture of vulnerability, all blood, bruises and broken bones. Seeing the woman like this made her gut twist in a way it hadn't before, and it made her want to throw up.

Tearing her eyes away from the broken blonde, she turned to the teenager with a soft, worried smile on her face. The teenager looked as worried as Claire felt, which wasn't a big surprise; the girl had a big heart and had taken a shine to Alice as soon as she'd turned up. The two had become fast friends, becoming an insufferable yet amusing duo.

"K, will you sit in the back and keep an eye on her please?" Claire asked. Every fibre in her body yearned to hold Alice until she was ok, but she wasn't entirely happy with the idea of K-Mart driving with passengers, especially with no one else around to warn them of any possible danger. As expected, the teenager nodded quickly, hopping carefully into the back seat and taking Alice's head gently into the softness of her lap to make room for herself and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Once Claire was in the driver's seat, she twisted round to make sure the two blondes were settled on the back seat. Her eyes lingered longer than was necessary on Alice's prone form and she prayed the blonde would make the journey. Satisfied that they were as comfortable as they could be in the current situation, the leader lifted the small radio to her mouth and spoke. "Carlos, we're coming to get you. Where are you?"

"Claire! How are you all? Is that thing dead?" the man asked.

"It's dead. K and I are fine but Alice has been hurt badly and we're gonna need Betty to be ready to treat her when we get to you," the redhead said, her professional tone hiding the fear she felt for the passed out blonde in the backseat. There was a pause as Carlos switched channels to pass the information on to the medic.

"Alright, she knows. Where are you? I'll give you directions to our location," the man said gruffly. Claire informed the ex-Umbrella soldier as she started up the engine. Carlos thought for a moment before beginning to direct the Redfield to them. Claire drove as carefully as she could so as to not risk injuring Alice even more, glancing back every now and then to make sure she was ok. She wished she'd just asked K-Mart to drive so she could look after Alice. All she wanted to do was hold her limp body and caress her skin until she woke up. Sighing, she turned her eyes back to what was left of the dusty, decaying road before them, praying they'd get there without Alice being hurt much more.


	3. Chapter 3

**So this is the last chapter of this one. I do apologise for it being such a short "long piece" but when I started, it was only supposed to be a oneshot born from a plot bunny that popped into my head when I was in the shower. I hope people have enjoyed it - I know I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for the positive feedback!  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Resident Evil or any of the characters. **

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In, out, in, out, in, out...Claire Redfield counted each breath the blonde in her lap took, looking out for any falter that might signal a decline in Alice's state. Presently, the blonde seemed fine, apart from being unconscious after extensive use of her powers – too fine. Just yesterday she had been beaten to a bloody pulp by a monster more than twice the size of her and had suffered broken bones, severe bleeding, the whole shebang. Now her skin was unmarred, her bones were strong again and, as far as the convoy's best medic could tell, the woman was tired but otherwise healthy.

Claire knew Alice could heal fast, but she had no idea she could bounce back from such a big fall as if it was a small graze; it seemed too good to be true. The blonde woman never failed to amaze the redheaded leader. Tracing small patterns on the unconscious woman's soft skin, she closed her eyes, remembering the events of yesterday.

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_Heart pounding, the redhead scooped the injured blonde up into her arms and took her to the battered ambulance, where Betty was waiting, doors open, ready to do all she could for the pair. Claire gently lifted her into the vehicle and placed her down cautiously on the small bed, shutting the double doors behind them. The medic watched with a look of shock on her face, unaccustomed to seeing the convoy's fierce saviour in such a state._

"_Claire, what the hell happened to y'both?" she asked incredulously, looking between the two women. Claire just shook her head quickly, not wanting to waste any time. She had no idea how long it would take for Alice's body to start healing. _

"_Not important. I'm not a doctor but I have a feeling Alice might have broken something – her arm, maybe, perhaps her ribs – and it might need setting before her body can heal it," the leader informed, glancing nervously at the blonde in question. "Can you help her?" _

_Nodding, Betty collected herself and began moving around the small ambulance, gathering tools and supplies. "Sure, I can. Now you just sit yourself down there and try to stay cool, sweetheart, while I work my magic," she said with a friendly smile, gesturing to a pull down seat by the end of the bed. With a small, grateful smile, Claire sat down and heaved a sigh, running her hands through her fiery hair as Betty busied herself with checking Alice over. _

_She carefully removed the tan button up that the blonde wore over the dirty white tank top, and proceeded to slide said tank top up her torso, revealing creamy skin mottled with dark bruises and grazes. Betty grimaced, gently pressing her fingertips on the older woman's ribs, feeling for out of place bones. Frowning softly, she moved to check one bruised and bloody arm, then the other. _

"_Claire, you did say it was her arm and possibly her ribs that you thought were broken, right?" the medic questioned, her brow furrowed. The redhead lifted her head to look at the medic and her patient. _

"_Yeah, why? Everything ok?" Worry stirred in the pit of her stomach. _Oh god, what if she's healed all wrong? What if she was in worse condition than I thought? Oh god –

"_I'm checkin' her over and all I'm findin' are cuts and bruises. Everything feels alright in there," Betty murmured, confusion evident in her voice. _

_Claire stood and joined the medic by the prone blonde, anxious eyes sweeping over her athletic figure. The redhead's lips parted slightly in a quiet gasp, her face twisting into a puzzled frown. _

"_What the – Her arm was –" the fiery leader stuttered. Just a few minutes ago, she had been sure the reckless blonde's arm was broken; now, the arm lay comfortably beside her, discoloured and grazed, but certainly not broken. Even the woman's bruises were beginning to yellow and fade. _How could she heal that fast, _the Redfield wondered, before realising what must have allowed her to pull such a stunt. _The virus! _Claire breathed a small, relieved laugh, once again amazed by the strange blonde who'd exploded into their convoy months ago. _

"_You are fucking amazing, Abernathy," she whispered under her breath, grinning down at the ragged hero. _

"_I've never seen anything like it. The speed of her recovery is amazing," Betty mused, gazing down at Alice's healing form, before rolling the dirty tank top back down her uncovered midriff and handing the discarded button up to the leader with a reassuring smile. "Some good rest and she should be up and about like this didn't even happen."_

_The redhead leader gave a small, relieved smile that wasn't often seen on her since the world went to hell. "Thanks again, Betty. You never disappoint me," she praised softly, a friendly hand on the other woman's arm and a grateful smile on her lips._

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After holing up in an old motel that would be their home for a few days, Claire had carefully moved Alice into one of the dusty, abandoned rooms, where they'd remained for the night and the better part of the next morning. K-Mart had thoughtfully checked on them a couple of times, bringing breakfast for the three of them in the hope that Alice was awake, but the blonde remained asleep, and no one else dared disturb the two women.

After what felt like years, the older woman showed signs of returning to the world of the living dead. She sighed softly in her drowse, seeming oddly peaceful for someone who so often looked tortured. Slender fingers twitched sleepily, and, unaware of her actions, the blonde burrowed her head further into Claire's warm body, desperate to cling on to the somewhat peaceful rest that unfortunately only came after fully exhausting her powers.

Claire smiled softly at the sight of Alice's almost childlike actions, treasuring the sight of her waking up, strict rules and dark guilt forgotten in all her sleepiness. The redhead found it completely adorable.

Finally the blonde resigned to wakefulness, slowly opening her eyes, hastily shoving her hands in front of them when she was blinded by a bright white light that she eventually identified as sunlight.

As the fogginess of sleep cleared, Alice realised she was laying on a threadbare couch, her head in someone's lap, soft fingers tracing patterns on her bare arms. A small flush of embarrassment flooded through her as she realised the warmth she had sought out not minutes ago was, in fact, someone's body heat. Her embarrassment increased when she realised that someone was a certain Redfield.

Determined not to let her embarrassment show, she smiled softly up at the younger redhead and murmured a groggy 'good morning', her voice low and husky.

Claire chuckled lowly. "Morning, sleepy head," she said with an amused smirk. Now that Alice had woken up, she was a lot more at ease, no longer worried about the horrible possibilities she'd thought up that all involved Alice not waking up, at least for a long time. "How are you?"

Alice laughed quietly, moving out of Claire's lap and sitting at the opposite end of the sofa, facing her. "I feel like I got run over by a bus. How long was I out for?"

The leader's face twitched with concern, but she fought it, knowing Alice would likely hate the sympathy. "Half of yesterday, all night and most of this morning," she informed, before adding teasingly, "Almost thought you were never gonna wake up."

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Redfield," Alice replied with a wide smirk that made the redhead go weak at the knees.

Feigning disappointment, Claire shook her head. "Damn!" Sobering up, she looked intently at the blonde with honest green eyes. "I was worried about you, Alice," she admitted in a small voice.

Alice blinked in shock. She wasn't used to people worrying about her. After all, in the days before the outbreak, no one had needed to; why worry about Ass-Kicking Alice unless you were worrying about getting your ass, well, kicked? After the outbreak, the blonde had been mostly alone, meaning there was no one to worry about her anyway. The sudden confession from the convoy leader put her in unfamiliar territory, and she felt as if she'd been thrown into the deep end of the pool.

There was a long moment where neither woman dared to speak, fearing they'd say the wrong thing. Lack of human contact since the apocalypse left Alice's social skills rusty and unreliable, while Claire feared she might scare the other woman away if she put any pressure on her.

"Hey, no need to worry about me. I always bounce back, remember?" Alice murmured while staring at anxiously twisting hands in her lap, partially to herself as well as the redhead. While great strength and fast healing may seem desirable properties in such a dangerous world, they were not what they cracked up to be, and Alice loathed both herself and Umbrella for it.

Sighing, Claire furrowed her brows. "Alice, I - you know that's not what I mean," she said, frustration evident in her voice.

The leader saw something flash in the other woman's eyes as they met her own. "Do I?" Alice gazed intensely at the redhead. "What do you mean?" Her voice had sharpness to it, though it didn't appear to be completely directed at Claire, and something about her voice made it sound as if the blonde was trying to mask genuine intrigue.

The tables were turned, and now Claire was the one nervously unable to make eye-contact while Alice burned holes into her with her fierce stare. "I - Don't do that again," she said firmly, though her tone was softer and less authoritative than it would be if giving orders to anyone else.

Knowing she didn't specifically mean "don't jump out a car to fight a monster alone", but rather, "don't almost get yourself killed in a mission that's almost certainly suicide", the blonde woman heaved a sigh, tipping her back slightly and allowing her eyes to slide shut for a second before righting herself again.

"Claire, you know I can't promise that. This world we live in, it's unpredictable at best. At worst, it's fucking fatal," she said regretfully, wishing she could just make that promise and continue taking comfort in the leader's warm embrace. Maybe she could pass out again so Claire would have to look after her again? She quickly shoved away the childish notion; she doubted Claire would appreciate her hurting herself just for the woman's attention, and the woman had enough to deal with without an injured ex-Umbrella employee and experiment on her hands. "I was built to kill, whether any of us like it or not. I have a chance to protect people, to make up for the past. I have to take advantage of that," she continued. "It's not like I can die anyway," she breathed, unsure if she wanted Claire to hear that or not.

At this, the leader jerked her head up, sensing the reckless woman's displease about that fact. Her eyebrows pulled down into a deep frown, mouth opening and then closing again when no words came to her. Instead, she unexpectedly pulled the blonde into a tight hug, one hand on the back of her neck and the other gripping the material of the back of Alice's dirty tank top. "Then promise me you'll make an attempt to not get severely injured," the redhead said fiercely, almost a growl.

The sudden hug knocked the breath from Alice, and she found herself holding what little breath she had left, suddenly self-conscious. In the back of her mind, she hoped she didn't smell too terrible from sweating so much the day before. Slowly, the blonde brought her own hands up, winding them around the woman's slender waist. Quickly growing oddly comfortable in the leader's grasp, she buried her head in the crook of her neck, wishing she could stay that way forever. A small groan came from the back of her throat, like a purr, and she murmured, her voice muffled slightly by the soft flesh of Claire's neck: "I promise."


End file.
